Jamie's Story
by golden phoenix ash
Summary: Jamie Hampton,Lily Potter's long lost best friend, joins Lily at Hogwarts in their 4th year. How would her presence change the events leading up to that Haloween night? This is an AU.LJ,RemusOC. No slash. Pls read & review. I need constructive criticism.
1. Chapter 1: The start of a long night

**Disclaimer**: The things you recognize from the Harry Potter books are J.K. Rowling's. The rest are mine.

**Prologue**

**In the outskirts of Devon, England, a girl lived with her aunt. This girl, Jamie, was no ordinary fourteen year old, for she is a witch. On this particular July evening, we find Jamie sitting alone in the library of her late grandmother's cottage, reading. She is waiting for her aunt to get home from the grocer's a few blocks away. Little did she know that she's in for a rough night…**

**_Chapter 1: The start of a long night (Jamie's pov)_**

I'm reading, but my brain isn't soaking the information up. I'm worried about my Aunt Eli. She left over an hour ago to pick up a few things from the grocers and she hasn't returned yet. I spent fifteen more minutes trying to read, then I gave up.

After putting the book back in the shelf with a sigh, I stepped out onto the balcony. I gazed up at the cloudless night sky to the face of the bright crescent moon and myriads of shining stars. I've always loved star-gazing. Sometimes, I'd sit in the balcony or by a window for hours at a time just looking at them. Tonight, however, the worried and slightly panicked thoughts racing over my brain are making it impossible to enjoy the view. Just why is my Aunt so important to me? I, Jamie Catherine S. Hampton, am an orphan. Aunt Elizabeth is my only living relative.

Suddenly, loud piercing screams of terror resounded from the villagers snapping me out of my musings. I searched for the source of the screams, frantically. Has anything happened to the village? Is Aunt Eli alright? I found the terrified screams were made by people being tortured by death eaters. I was almost frozen with fear. Death eaters were the cause of death of all my relatives on my father's side save for Grandma Hampton. Without hesitation, I rushed across the hall into my grandmother's old room. In a mad rush, I pressed my thumb into the fingerprint pad and typed in the password to my late grandmother's panic room then-Bang! The death eaters are starting to break though the wards! I slid into the panic room and locked it with all the sealing spells I knew. As a second BANG was heard, I knew I had to act quickly if I want help to arrive in time. If not for me, then for the people of Devon. I grabbed a handful of floo powder off the mantel and threw it in the fireplace, lighting it as I did so. "The Ministry of Magic, Auror Headquarters". I plunged my head into the floo powder and tried to attract the attention of someone, anyone. When, at last, my desperate calls were heard, I began to explain the situation at hand.

"Please, sir, my name is Jamie and there are death eaters here in Devon. They've already begun attacking the village people and it's only a matter of time before they break down the wards at my house. Please help us." The man became more and more alert with every word said.

"Alright. I'll try to get aurors there as soon as possible. Just stay put. Tell me, are you home alone?"

"Yes, sir. My muggle aunt is out of the house." I practically had to scream to be heard as the banging became louder and more persistent.

"Okay, Jamie, listen carefully. I need you to calm down. Find a safe place in the house for you to hide. If they do find you try to distract them so that they won't kill you at once. I'll get you out of there as soon as I get the word out. Until then, hold on."

"Thank you, sir. The address is 11 Coombe Valley Road, Dover." The next few were spent in a futile effort to slow my racing heart. I got up to cast the strongest protection runes I could muster around the room thinking that I have time before either the death eaters or aurors could reach me.

Unfortunately, at the same instance I got up large quake that shook even the very foundation of this house pushed me back down to the ground. I didn't even have to glance at the alarms to know that the wards have fallen. A few minutes later, I heard their footsteps coming up the stairs. I could tell they were looking for me. I stood up to look around for a place to hide myself, remembering the man's advice.

My grandmother's panic room is slightly different from others, you see. One could literally live here for years. It has everything a person could possibly need. It has bedroom and bathroom. It even has a walk-in closet and a kitchen. Basically, it's like a small one bedroom apartment.

I barely had time to squeeze in amongst the many heavy winter coats when the death eaters blasted their way though the solid eight-inch thick steel that was the main door of the panic room. Though slightly muffled, I could still hear them talking.

"Avery, Nott, search the left. Black, Lestrange, take the right. I'll be straight ahead."

Before I knew it, I was bound and gagged. They dragged me, though I didn't go without a fight, though the door and into the circle they formed. One of them broke my wand into pieces right in front of my face. Their leader then spoke to me.

"Well, well. What do we have hear. A pathetic mudblood, perhaps? Or maybe a worthless little muggle? Either way, we shall have our fun boys. Release her. Crucio!"

I struggled not to give them the satisfaction of getting a scream from me as five simultaneous cruciatus curses hit me. It was hard for my body felt like it had a thousand hot knives, pins and needles all over my body. It felt like forever but in reality, only five minutes had passed.

After a quick break, they decided to put the curse back on. Thankfully, all five were stunned before they finished the incantation. At last, the aurors has come! I only vaguely remembered being led out of the house by the man who answered my call. I wanted to ask if they found my aunt, but, alas, darkness consumed me before I could do so and I knew no more.


	2. Chapter 2: Aftermath

**Author's Note: See Chapter 1 for disclaimer**

**Chapter 2: Aftermath**

Nathaniel Lupin was looking forward to spending the evening with his family after a long day at work. His plans were cut short, however, as he listened to the urgent fire call of a young girl. The auror, upon hearing the words death eaters attacking Devon and that the girl was trapped in her own home, immediately summoned all available aurors, including the head of auror division and his partner, Henry Potter. He relayed the girl, Jamie's, message to them.

Within a mere few minutes, a small team led by Mr. Lupin apparated just outside of 11 Coombe Valley Road with the mission of rescuing the girl. The other aurors were given the assignment of helping the rest of Devon. Even outside the residence they could hear her shrieks of agony and pain. They sneaked upstairs just in time to hear one of the death eaters say evilly, "Ready for another five minutes of fun boys? Cru-"

He never got the chance to finish that curse because Nathaniel stunned him in the middle of the incantation. The team followed suite and stunned the other four. Closer inspection revealed these men were Regiwald Malfoy, Demetrius Avery, Bertram Nott, Ignatius Black and Ferdinand Lestrange. Auror Lupin led Jamie out of the residence where promptly fainted in his arms. He took a portkey to St. Mungo's as it was the fastest possible way. He could've apparated them there, but it was dangerous to apparate with a barely conscious or an unconscious being. There was a high possibility that he might splinch both of them if he tried side-along apparition.

The healers swarmed her at the emergency room and told him to wait in the waiting area. A few minutes later, the healer in charge of her came out. When he inquired about her condition, Healer Montgomery replied optimistically, "She'll be alright. Her body collapsed because the aftereffect pain of the Cruciatus Curse was too much for her body to handle. She should be up and about when the pain relieving potion we've injected into her starts doing its thing, which would be any second now. All that needs to be done is to have the release papers signed, and then she's free to go."

"May I go see her for myself? I'm afraid we didn't get a chance to find out what happened this evening before she passed out."

"I don't see why not. She's on the bed next to the window in recovery ward 1. Call me the moment she wakes."

Lupin stepped into the ward and made his way to here bed. He could see that she was starting to regain her consciousness. It took a while, but she managed to open her eyes. The first thing out of her mouth was a confused, "Where am I?". Nathaniel Lupin chose that moment to speak up. "Ah, I see you're awake. You're at St. Mungo's Hospital. I'm the one answered your fire call."

"Sir, has anybody seen or heard from an Elizabeth Shite? She has black hair, blue eyes. She's about 5'8."

"I'm not quite sure if anybody's seen or heard from her. Is there any particular reason why you're looking for her?"

"She's my aunt. She went out an hour before the attack and I haven't seen or heard from her since."

"I see-" Lupin began, but was interrupted by Healer Montgomery coming back to check on Jamie.

"Mr. Lupin. Did I not tell you to come and get me the very second she wakes! I need to check to see whether she's fit to be released or not." She scolded him sternly.

"My apologies, Miss Montgomery." Tuning to Jamie he continued, "If you'll excuse me, I'll go and see about your aunt." He was just at the point of shutting the door when Jamie called out to him, half pleading and half desperate.

"Mr. Lupin, sir, please find my aunt. She's all I have left." With the briefest of nods, he closed the door behind him and apparated away to the ministry.

Nathaniel, just to get the worst over with, checked the dead persons list first. He was thankful that there was no Elizabeth Shite there.

He checked both the injured and missing lists, but there was still no sign of Elizabeth Shite. He went to the front desk to add her to the ever growing list of missing people. He realized that with her aunt nowhere to be found at the present, Jamie had no place to go.

"Nat, how's it going?"

"Hey, Henry. Just looking for one of the victim's aunt. Poor girl doesn't have anywhere to spend the night. Said her aunt is the only one she has."

"Where is she right now?"

"At St. Mungo's. She's been put under Cruciatus by Malfoy and his cronies. I managed to get her out of the house but she collapsed before we could get her to safety. Fortunately, it seems that the effects are minor enough to allow her to be released this very evening."

"Right. Would it be alright if she stayed with you for a while, Nat? Not permanently. Just until we find her aunt or figure out who gets custody of her."

"Sure, I don't see why not. I was thinking about asking her anyway. I better get back to her though. She's very concerned about her aunt."

"I'll leave you to it then."

With another pop Nat disapparated into St. Mungo's, just outside of Jamie's ward. He knocked and came in when he acquired permission. From the looks of things, Jamie was ready to leave the hospital. Healer Montgomery was still with her, helping her up. She diagnosed that Jamie would not suffer any long term effects. However, she would be sore and tired for the next few days. After signing the release papers, the healer left, leaving Mr. Lupin alone with the young girl.

"Jamie, I'm afraid your aunt is still no where to be found. I realize that you don't have anyone to stay with at the moment, so I have an invitation for you."

"An invitation for what, sir?"

"Would you like to stay with my family until we find your aunt? I have a son who's about your age. You might enjoy talking to him."

"Thank you for your kindness, sir. I guess that due to my current situation, I've no choice but to accept your invitation. Not that I meant to sound rude or ungrateful."

"It's alright. Since we've never been properly introduced, let me introduce myself. My name is Nathaniel Kenneth Lupin. Nice to meet you, Jamie."

"And my name is Jamie Catherine Hampton. Nice to meet you too, Mr. Lupin."

"Please call me Nat. Everyone does. Mr. Lupin makes me feel old. Besides, I'm only thirty-seven years old."

"Ok, M-er…Nat."

With the formalities aside, they disapparated to the gates of Lupin Manor.


	3. Chapter 3: The Lupin Manor

**Author's Note: See chapter 1 for disclaimer. **

**Chapter 3: The Lupin Manor**

Jamie was too tired to take in much of her surroundings. Even so, she did notice that the house has plenty of art work, some of which were rather expensive. Nat led Jamie to the kitchen where his wife sat nursing a mug of hot chocolate. He gave his wife a quick peck on the lips.

"Marianne, Jamie here was attacked by death eaters in her very own house. She doesn't have anyone to stay with her at home so it's not safe for her to be there tonight. She'll be staying with us for the next few days."

"Hello dear. Let's get you upstairs. You look absolutely dead on your feet. "

Just then, a teenage boy stumbled in carrying a piece of parchment that looked like a letter or invitation of some sort.

"Mom, this just arrived. It's an invitation from the Potter's. Phoebe's debut ball is next Saturday at six in the evening. Snowflake nearly hit her beak on the glass window in the parlor again. It's the third time this week. "

"Poor Snowflake. It must've been exhausting delivering an invitation at this time of the night."

Realizing that someone besides his parents was in the room with him, he stared at the stranger as if to say "Who is she and what is she doing in the kitchen at this time of the night?". His mother quickly explained Jamie's situation.

"Remus, why don't you show her to the second floor guest bedroom. Poor dear looks dead on her feet. Jamie, go with Remus. I'll bring up a fresh set of nightclothes in a moment."

On the way to the guest room, Remus tried to strike up a conversation. Jamie, on the other hand, was extremely drained, emotionally and physically, to keep up a decent discussion. So they just walked together in silence until they arrived at an elegant cherry wood door. The sight of the room before her was breathtaking. The room was simply palatial (more so than her own home). She managed to thank young Lupin for accompanying her and bid him a good night after she snapped back to her senses. A few short minutes later, Mrs. Lupin entered the room carrying a few sets of freshly laundered clothes.

"These used to be mine, but they didn't fit anymore after Remus was born and it stayed that way. I daresay you're bound to fit in at least one of them."

"Thank you, Mrs. Lupin."

"You're welcome, Jamie. Please just call me Marianne. Mrs. Lupin sounds too stiff and formal to use in private. "

"I don't mean to sound rude, especially since I am a guest, but I'm tired. Could we possibly continue this conversation some other time when I have more energy?"

"Of course, dear. Sweet dreams."

Following a quick shower, she changed into one of the pajamas Mrs. Lupin had left for her. The Lupin matriarch was right. The pajamas did fit her, perfectly. It looked and smelled good too. The design on it was a floral pattern with feminine colors and it smelled like lemons. Jamie got into bed, and, out of habit, began to reflect on her day. She concluded that she's lucky to be still alive. With that thought in mind, she fell into a peaceful slumber in spite of her worries.

-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z

Jamie woke up the following morning feeling refreshed but slightly sore. She began to momentarily panic at waking up on a bed that was not hers until the events of the previous evening flooded back into her brain. Now that she wasn't as drained as before, she had the opportunity to really look around. Of course, that was after she did her morning stretches and routines.

It had a queen sized bed with a canopy, rather like a princess' bed. On the right side of the bed, an antique wooden dresser stood against the wall. The top of the dresser had a maroon runner with some candles and potpourri. A muggle picture of a little boy and a little girl hugging each other hung on the wall directly behind the dresser. Beside the dresser was the bathroom. When you open the door the sink is in front of you. The sink is on of the modern ones that look like a basin on top of a table. It is made of glass. At the right of the door is a shower with swinging glass enclosure. Beside the sink on the right is the toilet bowl. On the left of the sink is a white Jacuzzi bathtub. Located at the left of the door is a rack which doubles as the door to the walk-in closet. It is clearly for hanged clothes and shoes because there are no drawers. There is also a full length mirror in there. The mirror has gorgeous gold boarders. A Gryffindor lion is carved along the top boarder of the mirror and engraved with _llag nit pecca_.

Knock-Knock! Jamie looked up from the lion to the face of Remus. He was there to inform her that breakfast was ready. "Remus, right? I'm sorry I wasn't much of a conversationalist last night. I was so exhausted that I literally could've slept standing up."

"It's alright. If you don't mind my asking, are you a Hogwarts student? Because I've been there for four years and I've seen neither hide nor hair of you anywhere in the campus or on the train."

"I'm technically not a Hogwarts student yet, though I will be soon enough. I used to go to Sheyla's Academy in America, but when my parents died in a car crash two months ago, I had to move back to England after the term was over. My aunt has full guardianship of me until I'm of age in the muggle world, you see, so I'll in Hogwarts this coming school year."

"I'm sorry about your parents."

"You don't need to feel sorry for me. I don't want people to pity me just because I've lost my parents. I've already accepted that they're gone and I know they would want me to be happy again and to be able to continue with my life. Besides, it's not your fault that a drunken truck driver crashed into them."

"Well, I think you're going to love being in Hogwarts…."

They had a lovely breakfast consisting of pancakes, ham and eggs, cereals and fruits over a relatively pleasant talk on life at Hogwarts. A week later, Aunt Elizabeth was still missing. It was decided that Marianne was to accompany Jamie back to 11 Coombe Valley Road to get a few necessities for her. Surprisingly, Remus also decided to come along.


	4. Chapter 4: Friendly Interactions

**Author's Note: Thanks to my betas for this chapter (EmzEmz and Aquarius Angel). See Chapter 1 for Disclaimer.**

**Chapter 4: Friendly Interactions (Remus' POV)**

I don't know why I've been overcome by an immense desire to befriend Jamie the whole week. I surprised even myself when I insisted on going with mother and Jamie to her house. My parents felt that Jamie would be safer if she stayed with us until her aunt is found. Therefore, the three of us are venturing into her home to pick up some clothes for Jamie.

We took a portkey to the house, landing on the colorful front garden just outside of a grand Victorian style house. The exterior of the white and tangerine yellow residence was as cheerful as if last week's hostile break-in had never occurred. During the short walk to the front door, I observed that all around us families of birds were cheerfully chirping; the bees and the butterflies were busily going about their businesses, too.

Upon entering the house, we saw that the interior was, thankfully, not severely damaged. The only signs of destruction were several upturned, destroyed pieces of furniture and some broken picture frames that used to be hanging on the walls. The damage inflicted on the house, however, can be repaired by a wizard or a witch.

Mum immediately got to work repairing the broken furniture and frames. She told us that the repairs could take a while so we should probably get a move on packing some clothes. She also expressed to us that the two of us should probably stick together for our safety.

I was really amazed at the beauty of Jamie's home. It was warm and inviting even though it's a large property. The inside of the house was a combination of the old and the new. There are many antiques, but it is also filled with modern technologies such as flat-screen televisions. I commented to her, "You have a beautiful house, Jamie. It 's very cozy"

"Thank you. This is actually my grandparent's house, but my mother's sister, Aunt Elizabeth, inherited it after my grandmum died five years ago." We entered the third door on the right of the second floor landing. The room had peach carpets, light pink walls and tied-back baby blue curtains. "This is my room. Feel free to look around while I grab some stuff." She explained while heading over to a white and gold wardrobe.

Having no desire to watch a girl pack clothes, I took her advice and started surveying the room. One of the walls had some pictures on it, the first is one of a younger Jamie with I suppose are her parents. Another one shows two young girls - One of them was Jamie and the other had pretty red locks and emerald green eyes that I thought looked awfully familiar.

When I asked Jamie about it, she wistfully disclosed to me, "That was my best friend, Lily. We met in kindergarten and we've been best friends ever since… Sad to say we lost contact with each other the year after I moved to America." Jamie smiled sadly after saying this, but she turned back to packing signaling that the topic wasn't up for conversation. What she said, however, sent the wheels of my head working. Was she perhaps talking about Lily Evans? Or was she talking about some other Lily? After all, Lily is a pretty common name.

I moved towards another wall that had framed certificates, ribbons and medals hanging on it. Some of the certificates were diplomas, some were certificates of participation. A bunch of it was for being top of her class and the ribbons were for graduating with honors. The medals were for various activities, but there was one that caught my eye. It was a gold medal for winning first place in a figure skating competition last year. I don't know much about this sport, but I do know that a gold medal is hard to get. I turned around to comment on the medal only to find her already half way out the door.

"Jamie, where are you going?"

"I'm going to get my skates from the closet down the hall. I have a lesson next week, so I have to bring it with me. "

"You must be very good at figure skating to have won a gold medal already."

Jamie blushed a little at the compliment and replied modestly, "I wouldn't say that I'm very good at it really, just a bit…advanced. As for the gold medal, I won it out of luck. The competition was quite fierce and the only reason I got the gold was because the person who was supposed to get it fell."

"I've wanted to try ice skating for a while now, but my friends always talk me out of it. Could you maybe, teach me how to move on the ice without falling on my arse? Please?"

Jamie smiled in amusement at my comment, before looking at me seriously and almost started to lecture me. It made her love for skating clear. "Why not. Come to the rink with me next week and I'll teach you some basics, but I won't guarantee that you won't fall; you see falling is part of the natural process of learning how to skate. Even advanced skaters like me still fall on a regular basis. If you truly want to learn, you have to get rid of your fear of falling. A lot of beginners quit because they can't rid themselves of this hindrance."

Jamie finished packing her bag just as mum came up for us. Mum thought that we should just use fireplace in the master bedroom that's connected to he floo network to go home because of the added weight of Jamie's bag as well as for our safety. We got home in time for mum to start preparing lunch.

After a delicious lunch, I headed to the family library to finish the last of my summer homework. Midway through my potions essay, Jamie came into the library.

"Am I interrupting something important? If I am, I can come back some other time."

"Oh, no, it's fine. You can stay if you want. Were you searching for a specific book or were you just looking around?"

"I wanted to see if your library has books on magical medicine, specifically on diabetes. Since I was six, I've had type 1 diabetes, which is the insulin dependent type. As of now, muggles still don't have a cure for this type of diabetes and treatment can be quite a pain sometimes. I have to track all the carbohydrates that I eat, monitor my blood glucose level very closely, and wear an insulin pump everyday. I want to see if there is a magical cure available for it." Jamie frowned as she narrated, annoyed at her medical condition.

I apologetically told her, "I'm sorry, but our books on magical medicine are only about basic first-aid and lycanthropy. My father's is very interested on the subject of lycanthropy so he bought lots of books on the subject."

"Oh, well, it's okay... I can find books on it somewhere else. So… I've already told you some things about myself, but I know next to nothing about you. Tell me a bit about yourself. "

"Well, what do you what to know about me?" I asked, not quite believing that someone was interested in my life.

"What are your friends like?"

"My friends are James Potter, Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew. James is sort of unofficially our leader. He is also a talented on a broom. You should see him fly one day. He plays chaser on the Gryffindor quidditch team. James loves to play pranks on people. His pranks are never harmful, just amusing and sometimes embarrassing. I still can't help but laugh when I remember the more hilarious ones we pulled. He has an air of confidence in him that may be mistaken as arrogance to those that don't know him well, but those that do know him know that he's a very down-to-earth person."

My face turned more concerned as I started to talk about Sirius. "James' best friend is Sirius. They are literally brothers in everything but blood. Sirius can best be described as the white sheep of the Black family, if you'll pardon the pun. He dislikes most of his pureblood-minded family from the moment that he could think for himself. The bad blood between him and his family only worsened as time went by. Aside from that, Sirius is extremely loyal to those that he cares about, he loves humor and pranks as much as James does. He's generally a happy person although he tends to bottle his feelings up. I worry that because of this he'll explode one day." I shook myself out of the mood I've been in before I broke the confidence of my friend.

"Peter is sort of our fall back guy when we play pranks. He is exceptionally competent in finding escape routes and evading the authority which is useful after curfew. The ball tomorrow is to celebrate the 18th birthday of James' eldest sister, Phoebe. I'll introduce them to you tomorrow, if you want."

"Thanks, I'd love to meet them…."

Our conversation lasted the whole afternoon and my homework lay forgotten for the moment.


End file.
